Process of preparing a stock food.



G. B. FRENCH, DBG'D.

, B. T manna, nxnoumux. PROCESS OF PREPARING A STOCK FOOD.

APPLICATION nun NOV. 21, 1904.

P 136 t (1 Jul 28,1914. 1,105,415. l "z fli. 30 y airman GEORGE 3B.FRENCH, OF FREMONT, NEBRASKA; BELLE T. FRENCH EXECUTRIX OF SAID GEORGEB. FRENCH, DECEASED.

IPRDCEEiS 0F PREPARING A STOCK FOOD.

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonnr. B. FRENCH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fremont, in the county of Dodge and State of Nebraska, haveinvented certain new and useful lmprovcnicntsin Processes of Preparing aStock Food; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in the preparation oi food fordomestic animals from the whole Indian corn or maize plant.

It has for its object to save all of the nutritious parts of the entireplant, as the stalk, with its pith, the leaf, silk, tassel, cob andkernel, and incorporate them into a healthy, palatable, and easilydigestible form which may be conveniently handled and is capable ofretaining its nutritious, healthy, easily digestible and palatablequalities much longer than when the kernel alone is ground into meal orkiln dried, and which when prepared is in such form that it can bereadily, cheaply and securely packed, preserved and transported as anarticle of com merce.

his a fact well known where Indian corn or maize is grown, and moregenerall recognized in those States and parts 0 States which constitutethe corn belt, so called, that a large portion of this crop, that is tosay, the stalk with its enveloping husk and tassel, the blade or leaf,the silk and the cob,

are wasted for purposes of fodder. The

corn is huskcd or shucked in the field, after the frost has loosened thehusk from the ear, hauled away and the remainder of the crop is left inthe field where a large portion is ruined by the winds and storms of theensuing winter. Cattle and other stock are sometimes let into the fieldsafter the corn has been removed therefrom, and trample down and completethe destruction of that portion which they do not consume. All the.parts of the plants thus wasted and destroyed are valuable for fodderand contain those albuminoids or flesh-forming substances in. which thekernel, a carbonaceous and fat-forming food is deficient.

I am aware that besides the old way of preserving corn stovcr, namely bycutting, stocking and allowing the stocks to remain in the field untilthe whole crop becomes Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 21, 190 1.

Patented July 28, 191a.

Serial No. 233,730.

dry, other methods have been devised whereby to save the crop of cornstover. I refer to the silo and the shredder. Both of these methods arevaluable but they must both necessarily be restricted in their utilitybecause neither cnsilagc or shrcddcd corn stover are in a form to bepacked, preserved, easily handled or transported. It doubtful whetherthe preparation of these products, 'z'. 0. corn stover, have sullicicntfood value to create a demand and command a market without other andmore concentrated forms of nourislunent being incorporated with them.lorn stover, thcrc'torc, either in a shredded or in a silocd form, mustbe utilized upon the farm, or in the vicinity where the crop is grown.

in the northern portions of the corn belt and in fact throughout thccntirc corn growing region, it is not infrequent that excessively wetweather in the spring delays the planting and germinating of the seed.These conditions in turn delay proper cultivation, encourage weed growthand largely operate to diminish the quality and yield of the crop.Again, early frosts very frequently seriously injure the maturing of thecorn even when spring conditions are favorable. The adoption of myinvention would minimize the effects of these disasters, because by itall the food value in the corn stover, and what of value there is in theundeveloped and immature kernel, can be saved.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the kiln used in thedrying step of my process, Figure 1 is a longitru'linal scctional viewof the kiln. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the receiving end of the kiln,part of the walls of the casing being broken away to show the end of therotary cylinder. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the kiln showingthe fine and chimney, and Fig. l is a broken elevation of the dischargecud of the kiln showing the discharge hopper and chute.

My method of prcparingbr manufacturing'my new stock food consists infirst cutting and then shredding the entire crop. By the. entire plantor crop is meant all of the parts of the plant having nutritious valuewhich grow above the ground and can be conveniently harvested. in theshredding process. the cob is cut and broken into small pieces, then isshelled and a large portion of the kernels cut and broken, and thestalk, blade, husk, tassel, silk and pith is reduced to a comparativelyfine mass. This step in the process may be accomplished by separatemachines or in a combined cutter and shredder, and should so pulverizethe whole mass that it becomes quickly and easily susceptible to theinfluence of heat. The mass is then in such condition that it can bebaked or kiln dried at a temperature considerably less than thatnecessary to bake or boil and a revoluble oven, hung in acasing ofbrickand mortar, provided with grates, fines, and a chimney, and soconstructed generally that different forms of fuel, such as wood, coal,coke or oils, may be used therein in such a way that the heat may becontrolled and kept at theproper temperature. The oven is preferablymade of galvanized sheet iron or zinc, is cylindrical in form and hascontinuous plates or flanges extending spirally in a winding directionfrom the receiving,

to the discharging end, throughout its inner surface, thus forming achannel or groove through which the mass of pulverized corn and cornstover is kept continually moving by the rotary motion of the oven. Theouter edges of these inner projecting flanges are preferably cut convexto correspond with the concave inner surface of the oven and bent so asto be properly riveted or otherwise secured to the inside surface of theoven, which is preferably mounted on a shaft extending longitudinallythrbugh its center with journalsfitting in journal boxes set in thebrick oven case. One end of said shaft may carry a pulley whereby motionis imparted to the oven. Around both ends of the oven at any convenientdistance between the center and the perimeters thereof, segmental slotsare cut for the reception and de livery of the material. A continuouscircu' lar disk or bowl may be fixed rigidly to the central part of thereceiving end of the oven, extending outwardly and diagonally from thesurface thereof constituting a hopper to receive the coarsely cut andshredded mass from the cutter and shredder. A coneshapcd piece may besecured to the other end of the oven to deliver the material which haspassed through the oven to a suitable chute or other means of conveyanceto be taken to the grinder. "While the mass is thus being conveyedthrough the even, it is subjected to any required degree of temperature,and is heated, baked, cooked or kiln dried and, being in continuousmotion, all its parts are mingled together into a like degree ofconsistency, is warm, practically devoid of moisture, brittle and in acondition to be ground. The heated, dried or cooked mass is then groundin any feed grinder of proper construction and material, to any desireddegree of fineness and is ready for immediate consumption, or it may bepacked firmly into sacks of such material that'the air ispracticallyexcluded, in which condition it can be preserved much longer than cornmeal ground in the ordinary wayl ltt can be salted at any stage of theprocess after it has been out and sl1redded,preferably by means of'ashaker discharging into the hopper of the grinder. While the addition ofsalt will not increase the nutritious value of the food which T havedesignated maizemeal, except indirectly as adding to its palatableanddigcstible qualities, it is a convenient way to feed thisindispensable compound, and acts as a preservative.

Tn order to make the preparation and manufacture of maize meal acontinuous process, it erect a suitable casing or closure, 1, preferablyof brick, concrete or stone, with a semi-circular arch, 2. Extending thewhole length of this casing and arch is a narrow furnace or fire box 3,which is also inclosed except at the ends thereof, by the brick casing.aid fire box may be made of iron castings and built into the base of thecasing, or it may be, and preferably is, an open space lined with firebrick and constituting a part of the base of the casing. Said fire boxis preferably provided with doors, 3, at each end, and the flue, 4, andchimney, 5, are arranged near the middle so that fires can extend fromboth ends toward the'middie, and thus secure an. even heat along thelength of the kiln. ltn said casing, 1, is hung a revoluble drying orbaking oven, 6, which is carried by a shaft, 7, provided with a drivepulley, 7*, at one end. At proper intervals on said shaft are securedhubs, 8, into which are fastened the ends of radial spokes, 9. Theopposite or outer ends of said spokes pass through apertures cut throughthe surface of the cylinder oven which is attached to the outer ends ofsaid radial spokes by means of nuts, 10, turned and headed on to theends thereof on the outside. It should be understood that the shaft, 7,with the hubs, 8, and the radial spokes, 9, are rigidly connectedtogether and constitute the frame work of the oven which is entirelyinclosed by the casing. The kiln has continuous plates or flanges, 11,extending spirally from the receiving to the discharging end thereof,throughout its inner surface. These plates or flanges are substantiallypartitions forming grooves or channels, 12, through which the materialis kept moving by the rotary motion of the cylinder. The circular inletdisk or bowl, 13, is shaped like a truncated cone, is hollow and open atboth ends, but has the edges of its base bent outward as at 13, tocorrespond and fit to the plane surface of the receiving end of thecylinder to which it is riveted just outside the circumferential edgesof the inlet slots, 14, in the end of said cylinder. There are similarslots, 15, cut at proper intervals along the circumference of thecylinder near its discharging end,

through which the material is discharged into the cone-shaped box orhopper, 16, from which it falls into the outlet chute, 17, and isdischarged thence into a suitable receptacle (not shown) and carried byan elevator, or otherwise, to the grinder. drying of the material in thekiln may be regulated or controlled by the size of the fire, the depthof the passages or grooves in the cylinder and by increasing ordiminishing the speed of the revolutions of the cylinder.

It will, of course, be understood that when it is desired to utilize thecorn crop or any portion thereof for immediate consumption on the farmwhere it is grown or in the immediate vicinity, it is not necessary tocook, bake and kiln dry the product as it is not re quired that the foodbe preserved. In such cases the material is cut and shredded and passeddirectly to the grinder and ground substantially in the mannerheretofore indicated. The product will then contain all the nutritivevalue and all the moisture there is in the crop provided no portion ofthe ear is removed.

The great advantage of my process is thatwhatever the condition of thecrop, the farmer can by the use of said process, save and utilize forfood purposes, all there is of nutritive value in his crop.

It is obvious that my process may be successfully used in thepreparation of similar foods from food plants other than Indian corn.

My stock food is composed of proportional constituent parts of ash,protein, crude fiber, nitrogen free extract and fat. It is obvious thatthe per cent. of these constituent parts will vary according tolocation, culture, character of the soil, climate, variety, stage ofdevelopment and manner of curing in fresh or air dry material. As abovestated, it is not necessary to dry the food when it is to be used atonce, whereas if it is to be preserved it must be dried. The compositeThe Y matter of the two would vary. Allowing for the conditionsspecified, the food would contain approximately from 12.2 to 10.5 percent. water, from 1. 1 to 4.2 per cent. ash, from 4 to 10.4 per cent.protein (N x 6.25), from 9 to 10.9 per cent. crude fiber, from 41st to62.2 per cent. nitrogen free extract and from 1.7 to 3.5 per cent. fat.Average proportions may be stated as follows, calculating to water freesubstance, namely: 3.5 per cent. ash, 8.3 per cent. protein, 19.4 percent. crude fiber, 65.8 per cent. nitrogen free extract and 3.1 percent. fat. ent parts of the food are those used by chemists in analyzingfood stuffs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of preparing a stock food consisting in cutting andshredding all the parts of a food plant which grow above the ground andhave nutritious qualities, and grinding the cut and shredded mass into acomminuted form.

2. The process of preparing a stock food consisting in cutting andshredding all the parts of a food plant which grow above the ground andhave nutritious qualities. drying the out and shredded mass and grindingthe dried product into a comminuted form.

3. The process of preparing a stock food consisting in cutting andshredding all the parts of a food plant which grow above the ground andhave nutritious qualities, salting and drying the cut and shredded massand grinding the dried product into a comminuted form.

4. The process of preparing a stock food consisting in cutting andshredding all the parts of an Indian corn plant which grow above theground and have nutritious qualities, drying the cut and shredded mass,and grinding the dried product into a comminuted form.

5. The process of preparing a stock food which consists in cutting andshredding all parts of a food plant which grow above the ground and havenutritious qualities, drying the cut and shredded mass under agitation,and then grinding the dried product into a comminuted form.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE B. FRENCH.

Witnesses:

A. K. DAME, CLARENCE Lucas.

The substances named as the constitu-'

